Eating Stuff and Things

     In chapter 2, Nice to Eat with You: Acts of Communion, Thomas C. Foster goes into depth of the importance and role a meal plays in a story. It does not matter if it is portrayed in a movie, play, or literature, the meal has a great impact on how the characters interact with each other and grow throughout their stories. Yes, food can just be food, but the way the characters interact and are affected by the experience of the meal can have a great impact on the direction a story is going, either it be good or bad. So the point that foster makes throughout this chapter is, "I want to be with you, you want to be with me, let us share the experience". Which overall is his definition of what communion truly is, the act of eating with others is so intimate and sacred it can only be done with the people we have accepted into our lives and truly trust. But at times the meal can go south and end up being a big mess.
     For example Disney has created many memorable meal scenes, one of them, such as Alice in Wonderland. Although the scene might be very goofy in which Alice and friends, not only partake in drinking tea and other treats, it still has the same qualities to that of communion. They might not be seen up front do to the crazy and fun animation, which clearly doesn't have any religious similarities. But a communion does not have to be religious, the characters themselves act in such a way it feels like they are a family and have created a bond with one another. With that trust they've accepted Alice into their wacky dinner party, and they act so foolish because there is trust. So by being a family and having trust with one another, the dinner party has become an act of communion. Or another example like the spaghetti scene in Lady and the Tramp, the two dogs are eating a meal, which them dramatically turns intimate when both end up eating the same single strand of  spaghetti. "The act of taking food into our bodies is so personal that we really only want to do it with people we're very comfortable with". Just like the Lady and the Tramp, not only have they grown closer as a unity, but have become more open minded through this simple common bond. Both Alice and friends, and Lady and the Tramp have been part of a communion, and have gained new perspective just by having a meal.
     A very obvious form of communion is, The Last supper, in which Jesus has a last meal with his fellow disciples. Which he shares his last moments of life with the people he cares about and trusts. Although he already knows there is fowl play at hand, they all eat there meal in unity and communion. That brings back the idea mentioned before, when a meal can go south and become the opposite of holly. Just like mentioned by Foster, a meal can not always be good, there can always be betrayal and hatred in communion, there is a variety of ways it can go. Just like the last supper all are open minded, but some are blinded by betrayal. Then another example, such as Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, first of the meal doesn't even takes place because of so much tension that arose between Han, Vader, and Boba. But yet this helps emphasize that the meal itself was bad from the beginning, but yet helped open new perspectives of one another, which overall helps the story as a whole. If either communion took place or it barely happened, both emphasize that it is more than just the food, it is the people who create such communion.
     Whether it be religious, fiction, or non fiction, the meal is the most vital part in any story. It is When it reveals our true intentions and feelings towards one another, either if it be loving and caring, or down right hating one anther. The meal can bring out our morality and can show all of us that we are all equal when we realize we are in communion. I myself feel more comfortable eating with the people I care about the most, a place where I or anyone can be themselves. Either if you are eating in a magical world, in outer space, or with Jesus Christ, the meal when in unity might have its ups and downs, but in the end we all eat in communion.